“Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There? Book III: 40. And Then There Were Three

Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There?

By Kate Chamberlin

As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they’re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills and techniques demonstrated by the fictional characters in these stories are valid, tried and true.

Book III:  Wife and Mother

#33. The Wedding

#34. The Honeymoon: Lake Pocotopaug

#35. The Honeymoon: Freedom Trail

#36. The Baby Can’t Go Home

#37. The Home Visit

#38. And Then There Were Two

#39.  Fire Prevention

#40. And Then There Were Three

“The head is crowning,” the delivery room nurse said. “Look at all that brown, curly hair.”

“Brown?” Grace said between panting. “The boys were tow-heads. Is this one a girl?”

“She sure is,” the Ob-Gyn said as Marion slipped out into our world with a lusty yell at the inconvenience of it all.

“So, now we have three children,” Ken said through his paper mask. “She sure is loud for such a little girl.  I’ll bet she’ll live up to her name-sake, Marionella!”

Later, when all the hub-bub had settled down, Grace nursed little Marion as Ken looked on with pride.

“It sure was different this time,” he said. “Remember when William was born?”

“I sure do,” Grace said, letting their new born grasp her finger. “They really didn’t want you in the delivery room at all when he was born.”

“This time, they were frantic that I’d be too late to see the birth,”  Ken chuckled. “Times sure do change.”

They heard what sounded like a herd of elephants coming down the hospital hall and into their suite.

“Hi, Sis,” Sandy said. “These little buggers wanted to come meet their sister now, and they meant right now!  So, here we are.”

“William and Paul, come closer,” Grace said. “This is Marion. Would you like to feel how strong she can grip your finger?”

Well, of course they did.

“Look at those little toes,” Paul said. “And she’s got ten of them, too.”

“Her lips look like a little rose bud,” William observed.

“Did we drink milk like that when we were born?” Paul asked.

“Of course, you dufus,” William chided. “All healthy babies drink their mother’s milk.”

Grace burped the baby and Ken handed her to Uncle Sandy, the real reason why they were here.

“She sure is tiny,” Sandy said. “You were so big, I thought you had at least three kids and a basketball in there.”

Grace shook her head and smiled indulgently at her older, rough tough  bro holding her tiny infant in his big hands.

The next afternoon, Joe and Edie came carrying a huge, hand-made grapevine basket loaded with all kinds of baby things.

“I know she’s not your first baby,” Edie said. “But, she’s your first girl and they’re special.”

“Yeah,” Joe said. “There’s smelly powder, a Baby Bach CD, tiny little diapers with smiley faces on them that disappear when they get wet, and…”

“We get the idea,” Ken laughed. “Would you two be her God Parents?”

“We don’t need to discuss that,” Edie said “It’s a no brainer.”

“Yes,” Joe said without skipping a beat.

Grace and Ken enjoyed their candle lit steak dinner at the hospital that evening, because there was no question about Marion going home with them in the morning.